The Faithful Aftermath
by FrostySnake
Summary: PostEp for The Faithful. Alex is conflicted.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So this is my attempt at a postep fic for "The Faithful". I always wondered why noone here ever did that, since I think there is potential for conflict in there.  
Sadly this ended up being not very deep. I'm also not satisfied with the ending (last two paragraphs). Any tips you give me in reviews will be greatly appreciated. Or, even better, write your own postep for this episode! I'd like to see what others make of it.

Disclaimer: Of course, they don't belong to me!

* * *

That day, Alex Eames took the subway to work. She wasn't in the best of moods, and battling traffic would only make it worse. Shouting at people who can't hear you isn't good for your emotional balance, or so she heard.

She had the incredible luck of finding an empty seat, maybe because next to it sat a girl with spiked hair, ripped stockings and about half a pound of metal in her face. Alex couldn't care less. Sitting down, her thoughts turned to her partner, who was at least partly responsible for her current mood (the fact that her coffee machine chose this particular day to break didn't help, either). She wasn't at all comfortable withholding information from the prosecution but had agreed to give him two days anyway. If Carver found out about this, they'd be in a world of trouble, that much was sure. He didn't take someone's hindering his work lightly, and withholding information certainly qualified as hindering.

Then, as soon as they'd arrived back at One Police Plaza, Bobby had left again, offering only the vague explanation that he had to go and take care of something. That had irked her additionally. On one hand, he wanted her cooperation (complicity, even); on the other hand, he deliberately left her out of the loop. Shaking her head resolutely, she told herself not to give too much thought to that apparent dichotomy.

Alex noticed that the older, bearded man opposite her was staring at her strangely. With her short, polite smile she hoped to communicate that no, she wasn't crazy, but she had the right to spontaneously shake her head as much as he had the right to noisily scratch his unruly beard (which he did right then).

Bobby had probably been so absorbed in whatever plan he had that he didn't contemplate just how his actions would seem to her. Yeah, that's just how he was. She shouldn't take it personally. With a last glance to her beard-scratching travel companion, she got up.

On the short walk from the subway station to One P P her thoughts once again returned to Delawanna, yesterday afternoon. When they had left Melanie Grasso's house she felt hopeful that McShale wouldn't get away with murder. But then Bobby had to make remarks that seemed specifically designed to make her feel guilty. Resenting that, she had reacted rather impatiently, pointing out that Melanie wasn't an innocent bystander, at least not completely. But now, breathing in the cool morning air that would have been refreshing had it not been saturated with exhaust fumes, she had to admit (but only to herself, she had to uphold a reputation, after all) that he had succeeded. She did feel bad about what would happen to the Grasso family. Melanie may not be completely innocent, having given her son to an orphanage as an infant, but her kids would have to suffer, too. If nothing else, she felt for the kids.

Sighing deeply, Alex stepped into the elevator and pressed the button. Leaning against the steel wall wearily she realized that she felt as if this was the end of a long workday, not its beginning. Note to self: Stop thinking so much on the way to work. Yeah, as if that would ever happen.

With a faint 'ding' the elevator stopped at the 11th floor and she got out. Upon entering the Squad Room, she immediately saw large cups of coffee and bags from a nearby bakery on her and Goren's adjoining desks. Unexpectedly, she felt her spirits raise a bit. Good coffee really was an essential ingredient of a good mood. Maybe this was a peace offering from her partner, or a 'Thank you' for agreeing to keep her mouth shut. However, her mood was quickly brought down to its old level by the realization that Bobby was nowhere to be seen.

"He has been called into Carver's office."

Startled, Alex turned into the direction of her captain's voice. He was directly behind her, an overflowing file folder in his hand. At her questioningly raised eyebrow, he continued.

"Apparently, McShale took the deal Carver proposed."

"25 to life?" she asked, surprised.

Deakins nodded affirmatively.

Slowly, a grin spread across Alex's face. She was getting a pretty good idea where Bobby had gone in the evening. She settled into her chair, ready to take on the mountain of paperwork every case left while waiting for her partner to return.

A murderer would go to jail, the Grasso family would remain undisturbed, she had a large coffee before her and a delicious muffin. Suddenly, the day didn't look nearly as bleak as before.


	2. Chapter 2

I decided to add something from Bobby's POV. I actually wanted to end this with a conversation between Bobby and Alex, but when I came to that point, my mind was like, paralyzed. Really, it's stupid to be afraid of my own fic, but the idea of wirting B/A dialogue terrifies me. Sorry. Maybe I'll try again tomorrow. Ah, yes, thank you soooo much for all your encouraging reviews!

ladybrin: If you want to see the confrontation between Bobby and Carver, you should watch the episode. It's the last scene.

* * *

Bobby was on his way to One Police Plaza after he left Carver's office. Nothing that had happened there really came unexpected. Carver was not stupid, and he was too disillusioned to believe that someone with a potentially successful defense strategy would take a plea bargain on his conditions just like that. That's just human nature. The threat of a long time in prison wins over almost any conscience attack. And Bobby would have been a fool to believe that Carver wouldn't see a connection between his visiting McShale and McShale's taking the deal.

It was a good thing Carver believed him about what had gone on during his visit. He would be much worse off if Carver thought he had threatened McShale into taking the deal. But even though that danger at least had passed, Carver's warning wasn't to be taken lightly. Bobby was not fooled by its soft-voiced, even casual, delivery. There was no doubt in his mind that Carver would go through with his threat. In a way, he could understand the ADA. It could be dangerous if things he didn't know about went on with his cases. So yes, Bobby believed that Carver would make him lose his badge if he did something like that again.

But that was an 'if', and it was within his power to see to it that this 'if' wouldn't happen. Therefore, he didn't have to think about Carver, right now he wasn't the problem. What he had to think about now was his partner. Because Alex – wait, he never called her Alex – because Eames could be a problem right now. Or, more accurately, she probably saw him as a problem.

He was sure that his behavior yesterday had irritated her. Her agreement to give him some time was most likely born out of her sense of loyalty for him. But if he knew her at all, she was angry with him for what she probably perceived as him trying to guilt-trip her into agreeing.

Eames was much more by-the-book than he was. She didn't mind bending the rules a little when it got them results, but in this case the goal wasn't in solving the case. Coming from a cop family, Eames saw issues of guilt and innocence much more clear-cut than he did. That wasn't to say that she was without empathy, or saw the world only in black and white. Anyone who had ever seen her with a victim or a grieving relative knew that she was empathic.

Anyway, the odds were she was pissed at him. He already brought her breakfast, as a peace offering of sorts, but he knew that wouldn't be enough. But he hoped that the news would be enough. McShale had taken the deal and thus negated the need for the information about Melanie Grasso. It was now nothing but a piece of nonessential information, nothing the prosecution had to know.

Bobby distinctly remembered Eames' remark about how they didn't play a game of catch-and-release. Yeah, her biggest concern was that a murderer would go unpunished. Since that wouldn't happen now, she should be okay with it.

A smile crept across his face when he realized that while coming to this comforting conclusion in his mind, he had also reached his physical destination. The smile was replaced by a grimace when he stepped into the elevator and thought of the paperwork that followed every solved case.


End file.
